Jonah looked down at me with a furrowed brow. He almost seemed…concerned. It was odd to see an emotion other than dismissal or disapproval on his face when he looked at me, despite only having known him for such a short amount of time.

My brain took that thought and leapt with it, much further than was reasonable. Questions started pushing themselves to the forefront of my mind, overlapping each other in their frenzy to be considered. I forgot about the heartache Adam had caused not two minutes earlier. Hope blossomed in my chest even as I tried to squash it before it could get me hurt. Had he spoken with his brother about what I had said earlier? Did either of them realize that this arranged marriage would make me family to both of them no matter who I ended up stuck with? Were they at least going to attempt to get to know me?

“Are you alright?” he repeated after I didn’t answer, lost in my thoughts as much as I was.

I nodded, reeling my errant thoughts back in. My nose still smarted; I dropped my hands a bit to make sure I wasn’t bleeding all over the place. I wasn’t, thankfully.

I swiped at my eyes a bit awkwardly since Jonah was still holding my upper arms in a steadying grip. Was he expecting me to faint or fall over from dizziness?

I wasn’t that fragile.

His gaze was searching as I tried to stare him down to prove my strength. He would probably just think I was stubborn at best or an idiot at worst. But I noticed that something was hidden in those dark, deep brown eyes of his. It gave me chills, although not in an entirely unpleasant way. I couldn’t tell what exactly it was, but I couldn’t deny that it intrigued me. There was more to him than what he showed on the surface, I realized. And I was both curious enough and ticked off at him enough to try to pry deeper to get to the bottom of it. It was a challenge that excited the wolf in me.

I internally sighed in exasperation and briefly closed my eyes to clear my head. This sort of thinking would get me absolutely nowhere. It wouldn’t do to allow myself to see something where there was likely nothing. That was just a recipe for disaster. Especially because I had so much to lose.

“I’m fine,” I insisted, looking back at him with, hopefully, my head back on straight. I tugged against his hold and only then did he release me.

“Let me look,” he quietly demanded, reaching forward to cup my face in his broad hands. A sound of protest caught in the back of my throat. I didn’t allow strangers to touch me; I just didn’t like it. But I didn’t mind his warm, calloused hands as he tilted my head to either side, gently but quickly. He dropped his hands as he said, “You’ll probably bruise, but it’s not broken. Perfectly straight.”

“What are you, a doctor?” My tone was slightly snarky in my knee-jerk reaction of being defensive whenever I was unsure of myself. I saw the effect of my words as his expression closed off. I hadn’t realized that it had opened up a bit at all.

Oops.

“And what are you, blind?”

An excuse came quickly, easily. “I kind of was, actually, after I got dust in my eyes from some of the books.” It had actually happened to me once before, as a child, so at least it would be believable. I hoped. And he didn’t know me well enough to be able to tell a truth from a lie.

He didn’t say anything for a moment. We stood there, in momentary awkward silence, regarding each other.

“Not a doctor,” he answered. I blinked, surprised he had bothered to answer me. “Veterinarian.”

That was unexpected. I considered asking him about it, but didn’t think that he would give me any more answers. It was time to quit while I was ahead. Or, really, not any further behind than earlier this morning.

“Sorry for running into you,” I apologized hastily. “I promise this isn’t a habit of mine.”

One side of his mouth twitched.

“No blood, no foul,” he answered. “And…I’m sorry, too. For how…short I was with you this morning.”

“Oh.” I blinked a few times, taken aback. “It’s alright.” It wasn’t, actually. But it wasn’t like I’d say that to him. I didn’t need nor want any pity. It was better if he thought I didn’t care about what he said to me.

“It’s not. I promise it’s not a habit of mine to be a total dick.”

“Just a partial dick, then?” I grinned at him, hoping he would realize I was teasing. He didn’t laugh or crack a smile, but he didn’t seem offended.

So what did that mean?

“I’m not someone who’d be considered particularly sociable.”

I shrugged one shoulder. “I get it. I used to be the same way. Guarded. Private.”

“What changed?”

I turned my head to look down the hallway as I considered the best response. The light from the windows showed that it was approaching noon. Lunch would be ready soon. My stomach grumbled its agreement.

“Seems like there’s somewhere you need to be,” Jonah said lightly. “And I have a meeting about tomorrow’s reconnaissance on the vampires that I was on my way to. I’ll…see you around, Elisandra.”

“Eliza,” I answered quietly as he took two steps away. He paused, turning back. “And, to answer your question…” I blew a huff of air out. “It took a while, but I realized that it was worth the risk of getting hurt than to be alone all my life. Even though it bit me in the ass in some ways, it was worth the friends I got out of it.”

He looked at me with those unfathomable eyes of his before nodding once.

“Some people don’t have that kind of courage.”

Did he just…compliment me?

Without another word, he turned back around and continued down the hall.

That was definitely a compliment.

I was going to consider that a win for the day. It still didn’t solve my problems with the brothers, but it was a step in the right direction. Perhaps I’d run into one of them again later today, although hopefully not on the verge of crying my eyes out, and have another opportunity for a conversation.

But it was unlikely. Those meetings could last hours. They might not be finished until well into the night.

I sighed. I’d have to find another opportunity some other time.

I took five steps in the opposite direction of where Jonah headed, intending to go bury my nose in a book from my own room, before pausing. Jonah’s earlier words clicked, and I realized several things at once.

First, I knew exactly what the brothers would be doing tomorrow.

Second, I knew how to get the information I would need to insert myself into the equation.

And third, no one would miss my presence or expect me to take on any pack duties. It was the perfect under-cover operation.

And if I played this right, it had great potential for me to learn more about who they really were since they wouldn’t work with me voluntarily.

Slowly, a grin spread across my face. To anyone nearby, it would probably look almost maniacal.

It was time to start solving this gigantic fucking problem.